Don't you love going to those restaurants that serve fajitas and they come out sizzling on a hot cast iron skillet. The smells wafts past you as the waiter walks by and you think - Man, I should order those... they smell so good! I never do order the fajitas, because I feel like the restaurants are skimpy on the meat and too heavy on the peppers on onions. What better reason to make them at home. Make them as meaty as you want. Plus, they are super easy and you can have dinner on the table with less than 1/2 hours worth of kitchen time.
Steak Fajitas Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb of flank steak, skirt steak or carne asada
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced with the grain, not against the grain as one would normally slice an onion. Slice first in half, and then slice off sections a half inch wide at widest point.
2-3 bell peppers of various colors, stemmed, seeded, de-ribbed, sliced lengthwise into strips
Salt
Marinade:
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 fresh Jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped (be careful not to touch your eyes or anywhere near your eyes after handling a Jalapeño pepper!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, including stems
METHOD
1 Mix all marinade ingredients. Coat the steak with the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for an hour, or longer in the fridge. Before you cook the meat, wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the steak with salt.
2 Set a large cast iron pan or griddle over high heat and let this heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the tablespoon of oil to the pan and let this heat up for 1 minute. Add the steak, frying on each side for 3 minutes, or to desired doneness. 3 minutes per side will yield approximately medium rare doneness for an average cut of flank steak. Carne asada and skirt steak will need less time. If the pan starts to smoke too much, reduce the heat to medium-high. You want the steak browned, not burned. Remove from pan and let sit, tented with foil, for 5 minutes.
3 Cook the vegetables while the meat is resting. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onions and bell peppers. Let these sear for 1 minute before stirring, then stir every 90 seconds or so as the veggies sear. Cook for 5-6 minutes total.
5 Serve immediately with shredded cheese, salsa, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and warm flour tortillas. (Hint for warming tortillas - put in microwave over a paper towel for 20 seconds on high heat.)
